Bitter words are being exchanged between the Las Cruces mayor and the city’s Tea Party over a parade float.

The Tea Party’s float won best of show at the Las Cruces Fourth of July parade.

The float prominently displayed a Confederate flag.

Mayor Ken Miyagishima is upset about the flag’s placement on the float.

“The Las Cruces Tea Party can believe whatever it wants, but to have this symbol and what it represents,” he said. “Highlight the winning float at a celebration of our nation’s independence is an outrage.”

The Tea Party said the float celebrates the area’s history.

“The theme of the parade was the history of the State of New Mexico,” party members said in a statement. “There was a lot of history that defined our state prior to 1912. We showed how we fought for our statehood and the sacrifices we made along the way, along with our triumphs.”

History tells a brief tale about Confederate occupation in New Mexico.

{snip}

Both Union and Confederate governments claimed control over the New Mexico Territory, which extended through Arizona and southern Nevada.

As with the war, the territory split horizontally. On July 15 1861, Confederates from Texas took over Mesilla and established the Arizona Territory from southern New Mexico through Tucson, Ariz.

Confederates pushed north, however its New Mexico Campaign would end at Glorietta Pass in March 1862.

Union troops forced Confederates into retreat. They destroyed the Confederate supply wagon and its hopes for expansion into California.
By April 1882, Union troops had forced the last Confederate soldiers out of Mesilla.

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HUNTSVILLE, Utah — A parade entry portraying President Barack Obama and using the term “Obamanation” has made some angry, and others upset at the negative attention.

It happened in the city’s annual Fourth of July parade.

The float showed a person dressed as President Obama with one sign that read “Huntsville Welcomes Obama’s Farewell Tour?” On the back, another sign said, “Ask about our assault gun plan. Call Eric Holder.”

Global Minority

Good for them! Make no apologies either. If that flag offends you, you need a history lesson!

The__Bobster

Not today’s PC revisionist history.

14POLK88

Screw Ken Miyagishima the confederate battle flag is a part of this great lands history! It has nothing to do with race, And only racist see it in that light! So what does that make you Mayor!!

They DO still fly the Confederate Flag at “6 Flags Over Texas” and places like that, don’t they? How can this historical collection of flags possibly offend ANYBODY? Now, as a matter of fact, I’ve done some research on the history of the Confederate Territory of Arizona (capital of Mesilla NEAR but not quite the same as Las Cruces) and it’s pretty interesting. The County Clerk’s office still has the Confederate States Judges’ orders from the days after the occupation—it seems that the Confederate Territory of “Arizona” was pretty content with its affiliation. There were even Confederate sympathizers in Southern California, and the plan to Split California in half, which Congress had approved in 1860, was aborted precisely because they feared that Californios of the South would ally themselves with Texas and Arizona and—the Confederate States of America would extend from Sea-to-Shining Sea. For my part, I think that would have been pretty cool…. and I love the thought that ancestor of what became the (now, knee-jerk extreme left-wing biased) Los Angeles Times was, in 1860, a pro-Confederate “Copperhead” journal in the Golden State…. But I’m obviously a rebel sympathizer. Still, I don’t see how that historical collection of Flags was any kind of endorsement of the CSA or an expression of sentiments like mine—because I would have put the CSA National Flag on Top and made it four times as large as the other flags…..now THAT would have shown some rebel bias….right?

You’re representing the U.S. government in Vietnam. Only one flag should be flown. Thanks for your service. Respectfully, Musray.

slimcat1

Musray, Pretty much, as long as a Marine is a good trooper, he can do what he wants in such a situation. Nobody would’ve thought to issue an order banning the flying of the Stars and Bars under the circumstances that existed in Khe Sanh. In those years, there were quite a few Southern men in the CORPS. I don’t know about now.

Strider73

These days a anyone with a Confederate flag tattoo is automatically barred from joining the Marines. When a Southern patriot (and former Marine) got confirmation of this policy from the local Marine recruiter, he asked if the recruiter had taken out the day’s trash yet. Upon getting a “no” answer he threw all of his ribbons, medals, etc. on the recruiter’s desk and said “Good. Add these to the trash. I am now an EX-Marine!”

Just think, if everyone of military service age got that tattoo the USMC would be forced to either lift the ban or dissolve.

History can be changed. Just ask the Red Cross how many Jews died in Nazi Germany.

mobilebay

The South will rise again!

slobotnavich

I did two tours in that hapless country, one in 1965-66 and a second in 1967-68. The first was with a rifle company in III Corps and the second was with the MACV-SOG project of the 5th Special Forces. There were plenty of Confederate flags flown all over South Vietnam. The Confederate flag was a symbol of courage, independence, and superior military performance. No one objected to its presence.

And by way of a little history lesson, there’s nothing in the Constitution forbidding secession, any more than there’s anything anything forbidding American citizens from moving to Australia or anyplace else that might strike their fancy.

Yes, technically the South did start the war by firing, some might argue foolishly, on Fort Sumpter. From that point the fight was on, a fight in which more Americans were killed than in all other wars in our history combined, over 600,000 of them to quantify the magnitude of the slaughter. WW II contributed “only” 273,000 deaths, WW I a few over 50,000, Korea about 33,000, Vietnam around 55,000, our Revolution not quite 10,000.

Strangely, I suspect the US is now in greater danger than ever of breaking up again, this time successfully, especially if the buffoon currently in White House is somehow re-elected. Who’d stop it? The military services are now overwhelmingly conservative and despise the current administration and most of the federal government. There’s no way they’re going to fire on their fellow citizens at the command of the Marxist ninny in the Oval Office.

For some reason, I don’t support this. Perhaps the Jap “Mayor” and all the non-whites pictured above has much to do with it. It just seems so odd. Completely Alien.

It feels like with The Confederate Battle Flag being surrounded by non-whites (as pictured above) is being captured and on the other side of that odd coin, it feels like non-whites are stealing our History by voting for it. It’s like they’re taking Credit for something their Blood had no part of. I don’t like it.

Strider73

There is a huge Confederate battle flag flying from a very tall pole near the intersection of I-75 and I-4. If you’re in the Tampa area, be sure to see it and salute it!

Imagine how many people will see that flag next month when the GOP national convention is held there. Now imagine how many fools will have an apoplexy.

HenryHolliday

It’s up to us to teach them the truth.

American_cavalier

“Mr. Miyagishima is an employed, well educated and well respected American citizen in a high office.”

Mr. Miyagishima is not a well educated person and deserves no respect for his disrespect of New Mexican heritage. If he was well educated he would know that Las Cruces was a center of settlement for Americans from the South and West and in turn was a capital for the Confederate territory during the War Between the States. Las Cruces wouldn’t exist as it does today without the critical foundation of its early Southern and Confederate settlers.

Mr. Miyagishima is Mayor of Las Cruces. He apparently has no problem flying the Mexican flag at his office, even though Mexico hasn’t ruled the area for 164 years and has in general been the hostile power to the liberties of Las Cruces.

Mr. Miyagishima is clearly a person of non-American origin. Most likely his family has been here for no more than 100 years, and yet he dares to lecture those whose forefather’s founded the country he now so self-righteously denigrates.

Mr. Miyagishima is an example of what is wrong with America. We have given to much power to those descendents of immigrants who were only allowed into our country on the understanding that they obey and celebrate our American customs. Those who allowed Mr. Miyagishima’s forefather’s into our land expected to much from his descendents.

Therefore it would be best for the country if all elected offices, judicial benches, offices of public trust and profit, and all officers of the executive be limited only to those who are of Native American birth e.g. Those descendent of the first citizens of the United States.